(COMPLETE) WARNING - Contains Spoiler - includes the end of the game) Lloyd and the heros who saved the world from Mithos have gone thier own ways. But circumstances have brought them back together again. Thier strength of will...tested.

Author's Note: For those who submitted reviews for this
story, an error occurred on FFN and I was forced to remove the story in order
to upload my newest chapters. Though
the reviews won't show up now, I read them all and you were all so encouraging,
I know you will continue reading this because you love it so much. (Did that sound stuck up? Sorry!)
Anyway, please, enjoy my newest chapter.

Broken Promises

"Dwarven Vow
#11: Lying is the first step to the
path of thievery."

Derris-Kharlan

Lloyd fell to one knee and tried to
catch his breath. His final battle against
Mithos, formally Lord Yggdrasill, had been the toughest he and his companions
had ever faced. Colette was just
gathering herself and getting to her feet thanks to Professor Raine's healing
magic. Genis, Lloyd's best friend since
before the young warrior could remember, stood warily on his feet but appeared
more or less unharmed. Thankfully, he
had kept his distance and stuck to his magic, which Lloyd had to admit, had
grown quite strong over the time of their adventure.

Regal and
Presea received a few cuts and burns but nothing serious and both stood ready
for whatever awaited them next. Sheena,
her summoning powers being very helpful in battle, drained her mana almost to
its limit, leaving her on the brink of collapse. Zelos, always nearby when a woman was involved, supported the
Mizuho ninja under her arm. If the
summoner had been fully conscious right then, she would've protested the close
proximity the…cocky Chosen had with her.
By the slight red tint that adorned her cheeks, Lloyd suspected she
already knew.

The duel
wielding sword master himself strongly felt the after effects of the battle
against the Cruxis angel-lord. His head
swam from being thrown around by Mithos' angelic attacks and blood dripped down
from a gash on his arm. But he ignored
his wounds and focused his attention on the transparent figure before him.

Part of him
felt pity for the ill-treated half-elf turned angel. All the former proclaimed hero wanted was to be treated equally
amongst others – human and elven alike.
Unfortunately in the age Mithos grew up in, equality was but a far
dream. So he had been driven to split
the world and pit each new world, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, against one another
for mana; all the while only being concerned with finding a suitable match for
the revival of his sister, Martel.

As much as
Lloyd and the others tried to convince him otherwise, Mithos believe he was
alone in his struggle and without any goddess to draw strength from. He would not change his mind nor his ideals. Which left the group with only one choice.

Why must
it always come down to this? Lloyd
hated the idea of ending anyone's existence.
So many people had already perished: victims from the exspheres,
Renegades, and the villagers from Iselia.
When would it end?

Genis' plea
from besides him brought his hand to the hilt of his sword. It just so happened to be the aqua-tinted
blade that his adopted father had bestowed upon him. Now he would use it to finally put an end to everything.

"Farewell
my shadow…" The presence of Mithos said.
"You, who stand at the end of the path I chose not to follow. I wanted my own world, so I don't regret my
choice. I would make the same choice
all over again. I will continue to
choose this path."

Raising the
sword above his head, Lloyd brought it down on the floating red Cruxis Crystal,
shattering it to pieces. The remnants
seemed to flow into Lloyd's exsphere.
Afterwards, his arms fell to his sides, slowly replacing the sword back
in its sheath. "Mithos…you could have
lived with us…in our world. Damn
it!" He said this quietly and mostly to
himself, for he knew the soul who needed to hear it most would not be able to
hear him at all.

As soon as
the crystal disappeared, a red and blue light rose up in front of him and formed
into the Eternal Sword. Slowly, Lloyd
grasped it in both hands.

"The old
master of the pact is no more. What
does the new master of the pact ask of this sword?" Origin's voice asked from within the Eternal Sword.

Lloyd answered without hesitation. "Restore the true form of our two
worlds!" Mithos' castle on
Derris-Kharlan shook all around them when the Eternal Sword lit up on Lloyd's
command. The youth held onto it for
dear life as he felt the mana from his own body drain into the ancient weapon. His legs lost their strength and threatened
to go out from beneath him, but he willed them to stand.

There was a
bright flash and when Lloyd opened his eyes, he was once again on the planet's
surface. The previous damage from the
resurrection of the Great Kharlan Tree, as well as the collapse of the Tower of
Salvation, was still evident across the land, but he could tell the battle for
mana and subsequent inequality between the two worlds was no more. They were one in the same.

"Are we
back?" Lloyd wondered. Just then a huge earthquake shook everyone
and they struggled to stay on their feet.
"What's going on!?"

One by one
the physical manifestations of all nine summon spirits revealed themselves
around the heroes: Celsius – Disciple of Everlasting Ice, Efreet – The Red
Giant and Ruler of Hellfire, Sylph – Mistresses of Mighty Whirlwinds, Gnome –
Servant of Mother Earth, Shadow – Envoy from the Dark Abyss, Volt – Hammer of
Godly Thunder, Undine – Maiden of the Mist, Luna – Light of the Heavens, and Aska
– the mighty protector of all.

Sheena
frowned upon seeing them and stood up straight. "What are you all doing?"

Origin's
voice answered her. "Your wish is
granted…but there is no link. Without a
link, the land will die."

Colette
frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The world
was originally separated into two worlds to prevent its destruction. If it returns to its true form, the world
lacks the mana to support itself. The
land…is dying."

Lloyd
raised a fist defiantly. "I don't need
to know why it's dying. What do
we need to do to stop it!?" He
demanded.

"Support
the two worlds by linking them with the Giant Tree. That is the only way to stop the destruction of the land." The King of Summon Spirits answered.

"I get
it." The youth nodded his head.

Colette was
near frantic besides him with worry.
"Lloyd, hurry! You have to shine
the mana of Derris-Kharlan on the Great Seed before Derris-Kharlan is too far
away!"

Lloyd Irving tightened his hold on the
Eternal Sword and grit his teeth in determination. "All right! I'm counting
on you, Eternal Sword!"

"Derris-Kharlan is already at the
edge of the gravitational field. Not
even Yggdrasill…Mithos could stop this from happening. Do you still intend to try?" Origin asked.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah."

The final summon spirit seemed to
hesitate. "Even strengthened by your
exsphere, it is likely that your body will not withstand the forces. Are you certain of your decision?"

"I said I'm doing it, so I'm doing
it! It's not like I have a
choice!" He felt wrong saying it like
that because this whole time he was preaching to everyone that from the moment
they were born, people have the right to live and no one should have to be
sacrificed. But he also knew that if he
didn't take this chance, all those who stood behind him now, those who had
traveled with him and struggled through the same hardships he had, would not
have a world to see after this.

Origin felt the determination of
the boy and nodded. "Very well."

The Eternal Sword disappeared, but
Lloyd could feel the failure in the attempt.
"It's not working! The mana's
being rejected!"

Colette looked up at the Great Seed
with fear. "The Great Seed is…already
dead!?"

Lloyd couldn't believe it! After everything they'd been through, after
all the people who told them that they couldn't make a difference…now they were
going to be proved right? I won't
give up! Not when we're this close! His words and passion seemed to reach the
soul of his mother, buried deep within the exsphere on his left hand.

Lloyd…the Goddess Martel, who lies asleep within
the Great Seed, cannot hear you. You
must awaken her or all is lost.

Lloyd looked at the Great Seed and
shouted, "Wait! Don't go! Please wake up!" From underneath him, immense mana began to flow and he could feel
his mother's strength joining his own.
The blue sphere began to glow and Lloyd could hear a feint voice
emanating from the crystal. Fly my
son. Accept your birthright and take to
the skies!

The warmth
that pulsated in a rhythmic dance with the shine of the exsphere grew across
Lloyd's body in waves. Strength
returned to his limbs and he felt an unnatural heat rise to his back. Unnatural yes…but strangely soothing.

He closed
his eyes and accepted the metamorphosis.
Fear and anxiety held no weight on his heart. Slowly, large transparent wings grew on either side of him, their
blue-violet hue giving them a slight opacity.
For some reason, why or how did not enter his mind; only that his goal
was within reach and he would claim it.

Opening his
eyes, the newborn angel took to the air.
He ignored the startled gasps below him and kept his eyes locked on the
Great Seed itself. He didn't know how
he knew what to do… he just did it.
Already pouring as much mana has he had into reuniting Tethe'alla and
Sylvarant, Lloyd doubted he would be able to keep his promise to Colette and
gather the rest of the exspheres, but if he didn't do this, she wouldn't
have a world to live in at all. Colette…I'm
sorry…

He met the Great Seed as it
continued its ascent into the sky when the Chosen One named Colette flew up to
his side. No words were spoken but
Lloyd knew why she was there. He
should've expected such actions from her.
She was never one to leave a friend to face peril alone. "It looks like Derris-Kharlan stopped moving
away."

Lloyd nodded, having noticed that
too. "Yeah, but why? The Eternal Sword is gone." Where it had gone, Lloyd didn't know. Suddenly, the mentioned sword appeared again
in front of its master. He gasped in
shock. "The Eternal Sword!"

"Thank goodness!" Colette breathed a sigh of relief.

Both
grabbed a hold of the grand sword and Lloyd made his prayer. "This is my final wish, Eternal Sword…"

"Please awaken the Great
Seed!" Colette finished with earnest.

"I beg you! Please wake up!" Lloyd called out to the sleeping goddess.

"Please!"

Raising the sword up, then striking
down, the two aimed the powerful blade forged by the summon spirit Origin
himself at the Great Seed, ignoring the afternoon winds twirling against
them.

"Rise Great
Kharlan Tree!" Lloyd commanded. Looking at the flower-shaped crystal and
hoping it wasn't too late, Lloyd channeled as much free mana from around him as
he could through the blade and towards the Great Seed.

Far away
from them, at the base of where the Great Kharlan tree once stood, the
seemingly soulless doll Tabatha, saw the Great Seed germinate and glow bright –
its rays of hope reaching even the darkest edges of the new world, and knew the
time had come. I am awakened. Closing her eyes, she raised her hands and
caught the descending seed. Dissolving
into nothing more than energy, the power blew around Tabatha and she was swept
into the air. Dancing on the very
currents she seemed to fuse with the Great Seed itself.

The many
spirits the Goddess Martel possessed swirled around with the wind and enveloped
Tabatha, going inside of her. Then
Martel herself materialized and regarded Tabatha pensively. Would she once again have faith in the
people of the land to love each other and help the Great Tree grow? Would she take the risk and reincarnate in
this new body being offered to her?
Smiling, she glided up to Tabatha and caressed her cheek. Yes.
She agreed. I will believe in
the hopes and dreams of man once more.
Crossing her phantom arms around the praying girl in a hug, she entered
the body and was reborn.

She slowly
floated down to the ruins of the Tower of Salvation. Walking through it, she could feel the presence of the seedling
before she even saw it. Kneeling down,
she felt hope rise in her once again for a prosperous new world as her fingers
caressed the gentle leaves, though few in number. Her heart wished to soar at
that moment, but she feared for the fledgling plant as well. Its existence was so fragile; it would most
likely whither away to nothing once more.

Turning she
saw the Chosen descend with the warrior whom Origin had formed a pact and
watched as his large angelic wings disappeared as mysteriously as they had
come. Both appeared elated yet
apprehensive. "I am Martel." The goddess introduced herself. "I am also the incarnation of the Great Tree
itself. Lloyd, your hope, as well as
those of many others, resurrected me."

The boy youth blinked and asked,
"Are you Mithos' sister?"

The goddess shook her head. "No, Mithos' sister Martel is only one of
the many souls that I possess. I am
mana and I am the Great Tree. I am the
symbol of the many lives sacrificed to the Great Tree. I am the new spirit born to accompany the Great
Tree and now the seed has awakened anew along with me."

From the
ground a huge tree grew and seemed to reach up to the heavens. Large healthy branches flew up towards the
sky and from them, hundreds of bright green leaves appeared. The ground beneath it flourished and grass
rose up to greet the mana-producing tree.

Lloyd
couldn't believe his eyes. "This is…the
Great Kharlan Tree?"

"It's so
beautiful and so grand." Colette said
in awe.

"This is
the future form of the Great Tree, but right now it is only a small
seedling." She explained. "In its current state, the tree will whither
and die."

"Well then
how do we protect it!?" Lloyd demanded,
forgetting the fact that he was talking to a goddess.

"You must
provide the tree with love and adoration.
As long as those conditions are met, I shall always protect this
seedling." Martel promised.

Lloyd
nodded and held a fist over his heart.
"I promise, if the tree ever starts to wither, I'll make sure… we won't
let it die!" He swore.

"Then Lloyd, on behalf of all
living things, I want you to give this tree a new name as a proof of the
pact." Martel instructed.

"Wha?" Lloyd was at a loss.

"The Great
Kharlan Tree was planted here by the elves when they first came as a guardian
to watch over and protect them. This
newly reborn tree protects elves, humans, and the lives of all those who are
caught in between. Therefore this tree
requires a new name." Martel explained.

The Chosen
turned to her companion and smiled.
"Lloyd, pick a name for us. A
name for everyone's tree!"

"So this
tree is the link that connects the world.
Okay! I got it!" He agreed and as he turned to it, he
couldn't help but feel pride and hope swell within him. "Its new name will be…Viscus!"

Colette
smiled and nodded with enthusiasm. "The
Great Viscus Tree!"

Martel
mirrored her smile and accepted the answer.
"So it shall be named." Then her
form faded and disappeared. Only the
Great Viscus Tree remained to guard its children.

Lloyd's
throat constricted and he fought back his tears as his eyes took in the
unbelievable sight before them. After
all the pain and suffering, after all the sacrifices and victims, for Marble,
Chocolat, Anna, Clara, and all those wronged by Mithos – they had
succeeded. Thank you Dad, Mom
and…Kratos. The last thought of his
biological father made him smile even more.

Colette
turned just in time to see Lloyd close his eyes and fall forward like a rag
doll. Catching him before he could hit
the ground, the blond haired girl looked intently at his face for any sign of
life. "Lloyd! What's wrong!?" But she
already knew the answer.

"Yo
Colette!" That was Zelos' voice but…

Looking up,
the angel-girl saw her six companions come down on the rheairds to the base of
the tree. Seeing Lloyd in such bad
condition, they immediately rushed to her side.

Raine
regarded her former student for a moment before coming to a diagnosis. "The Eternal Sword must have drained him of
all his mana." The half elf concluded.

Colette
held her friend close and looked deep within his soul, her angelic senses
becoming a great help in the task.
Shaking her head, she contradicted her teacher. "That's not it." This brought everyone to turn to the girl. "It's part of it, but I can tell there's
more. Something more dangerous."

Exchanging
looks, the group was unsure what to do next.

Colette
narrowed her sapphire eyes and placing Lloyd softly down on the grass, stood up
and met everyone's concerned glances.
"Regal, I'm going to need you and Presea to go to Altessa's house and
explain to him what's happened. Gather
any information he has and if need be, bring him to Heimdall."

"Because
that's where I'm gonna take Lloyd. I
think at this point only the elves can save him." The angel-girl replied.
"Genis, I would like you and Professor Sage to come with me."

The half
elf boy nodded while his older sister answered for both of them. "Of course."

"What about
us?" Sheena asked, stepping forward.

"You and
Zelos take the last rheaird and head to Dirk's house. I'm sure both he and Kratos will want to be with Lloyd to make
sure he's alright."

Sheena
accepted the assignment with a "You got it", but Zelos merely stood there
blinking. Then his hand reached behind
his head and he scratched nervously.
"You sure it's Lloyd that's unconscious?"

The
summoner at his side elbowed him making the Chosen One double over. "What's that supposed to mean!?" She demanded.

Zelos half
laughed while trying to catch his breath and rubbed the bruise before it could
darken. "Only that it seems to me some
of our fearless leader has rubbed off on my sweet little angel."

Presea
nodded in agreement, despite the erotic references. "She has obtained the ability to delegate responsibility."

Mounting a
rheaird and securing Lloyd in front of her, Colette shouted, "Hurry up! The longer we wait, the less time Lloyd
has! Come on!" Without waiting for a response, Colette took
to the air.

Genis and
Raine were quick to follow. Sheena and
Zelos boarded another rheaird, though the summoner insisted on taking the
controls, leaving the lady's man to ride shotgun, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Kinda cozy
back here." Zelos whispered into
Sheena's ear.

Rolling her
eyes, Sheena scoffed. "Yeah you better
hold on cause if you fall off, I ain't flying down to get you." Then she blasted towards the East without
giving any warning to her passenger.

Regal
quietly mounted the last available magitechno device and looked to Presea. "Are you coming?"

Pausing a
moment, Presea kept her eyes on the sky where her friends had just disappeared
in the horizon. "Do you believe what's
effecting Lloyd is life threatening?"

"Hmm, I'm
not sure, but I do believe we owe it to the savior of the new world to look
into it." The former criminal replied.

"Yes. We do owe Lloyd a lot." Presea turned and got on behind Regal and
the two headed to Altessa's.

Heimdall

Bypassing Ymir Forest altogether,
Colette landed in one of the clearings in Heimdall, Raine landed her and Genis
besides it. The village itself was
still partially in ruins, the collapse of the Tower of Salvation dealing a
heavy blow to the quiet hometown.

The
Heimdall elder came towards them with his walking staff and didn't appear too
happy. All around them, various members
of the hidden village gathered around the commotion. "How dare you bring them into our village!" The elven leader hissed with deep-seeded
hatred. "I allowed them within our
boundaries only until the pact with Origin could be made. It was a personal favor I did for
Kratos. You dare take advantage of
this?"

Where this instant anger came from
was bewildering. From what Lloyd had
said, the elder was beginning to come around, but Raine concluded that it was
because of the severity of the village's destruction that made the leader want
nothing more to do with half-elves or Lloyd's group entirely. Swallowing hard, Raine took a step back
towards the village's entrance, her little brother doing the same.

Colette,
leaving Lloyd on the rheaird with Raine and Genis to guard him, glared
uncharacteristically at the village leader.
The sudden change in behavior from the usually cheerful Chosen made the
elves step back and breathe in shock.
"Now you listen to me! If it
weren't for Lloyd risking his life to reunite both Sylvarant and
Tethe'alla and germinate the Great Seed, you wouldn't even have a
village to call home!" She
berated. "It's your hatred for all
those non pure bloods that caused the tree to whither and die in the first
place! If we have any chance of
surviving, it's only if we erase our negative emotions and fill the world with
love, because only love will feed the Great Viscus Tree and allow it to flourish!"

Raine
stepped forward and held a hand over her heart. "Hold any hatred you have for us, but please, if you can save
this boy's life while we still have time, do not stand idly by and do
nothing! We'll leave as soon as he's
well."

Genis
crossed his arms and muttered under his breath. "Something tells me we should lock him and Iselia's mayor
together and let them duke it out."
Thankfully, no one heard him.

Out of the
crowd came a mother and daughter.
Colette immediately recognized the child as the elf who'd blocked their
way into the village the first time.
After receiving Ymir Fruit to save her mother, they never saw her again
until now. "That's them!" The girl elf
pulled on her mother's sleeve and pointed towards the chosen group. "They were the ones that helped me!" She said with a smile.

The older
elven woman, her long blond hair being pulled back into a neat ponytail, smiled
at Colette. Bowing in thanks, she said,
"Thank you for everything you've done for us.
Please, bring the boy to our house.
You are all very welcomed."

Although
she was putting up a brave front, Colette breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart, which up until now had been
beating somewhere close to her throat, finally lowered to her chest but beat
just as quickly. She feared for Lloyd's
life and if these elves were going to pull snobby, she wasn't going to stand
for it. Smiling gratefully at the
woman, Colette clasped her hands in front of her. "Thank you very much!" Hang
in there, Lloyd!

Just outside Ozette

Regal and Presea touched down right
outside Altessa's small house.
Strangely enough, the dwarf stood there waiting for them. "With the presence of the mana tree, you can
only be here for one reason." The
doctor from Flanoir ended up costing them a pretty penny, but the results were
worth it. The dwarf was up and back to
normal.

Sighing,
the dwarf's eyes fell to the sandy dirt at his feet. "Unfortunately I do."
Looking back up he nodded. "Take
me to him."

Iselia Forest

Kratos sat quietly in Dirk's living
room, the crackling of the fire the dwarven craftsman built was the only sound
present to the angel's ears. Kratos,
his red brown hair falling loosely over one eye, always reveled in
silence. But now it only gave birth to
new worries and concerns…mostly about his son Lloyd.

Many
centuries ago, Kratos had lost faith in the future of mankind when they decided
to turn against each other rather than build for a better tomorrow. He'd sided with Mithos Yggdrasill and
supported his vision of a world where everyone would be treated equally,
including Mithos' sister Martel and their friend Yuan, also half elves.

It took him
nearly 1,000 more years to understand the wrong in Mithos' system, but by then
it was too late. He was an Angel of
Cruxis and so bound by his loyalty to an old friend. The future Mithos now strived for was far different than what
Kratos, or even the late Martel, ever wanted.
As strong and as wise as Kratos appeared to be, he did not see any
alternative. And so he aided Mithos in
controlling citizens of both worlds through the subordinate Desian faction,
gathering new subjects for his experiments, and all the while watching as the
humans of both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla grew to believe in the myth started by
Mithos and could not help but feel sad as they laid their prayers on a goddess
who no longer, if ever, existed.

Now his son, Lloyd, fought for that
perfect world, that future of equality amongst humans, elves, and half-elves
alike. It was foolish of the boy, but
he was strong, stronger than Kratos, and was one step away from reaching his
goal. The angel of cruxis only prayed
he was successful.

As the mana
levels, usually depleting by the second into the other world of Tethe'alla,
returned to normal and even started to grow, Kratos felt pride for his
son. He had done the one thing Kratos
never could. The earthquake following
that thought at first made the angel worry.
Had Mithos succeeded in destroying Lloyd and his friends after all? Was the power of Origin not enough?

Dirk, his
dwarven senses telling him something was about with Mother Earth, froze in his
seat, a small short log still in his hands.
Setting the wood on the table next to him, he stood and walked to the
door.

"Trouble?" Kratos asked. His body had been severally weakened after releasing Origin's
seal, not to mention his fight with Lloyd, and he probably would've died had Yuan
not lent him some of his mana. Now
though, after several hours, the angel felt his strength returning and stood as
the dwarf walked by.

"I don't
know." Dirk replied honestly. Opening the door and walking out onto the
porch, both men looked around and to the sky for any signs as to the reason of
the sudden earthquake.

Kratos
called forth his wings and took to the air, not bothering to warn the shorter
man next to him. As he rose above the
canopy of Iselia Forest, his heart skipped a beat at the sight. In the middle of the horizon, stood the huge
tree of legend, the mana tree.
"Lloyd…you did it." Kratos
almost didn't believe his own eyes, but his angelic sight showed him the gentle
blue hue around the foliage of the mana-producing tree, and he knew what the
boy had truly done.

"What is it
Kratos? What do you see?" Dirk called out from down below, barely
being able to see the angel's form from the ground.

"He's done
it." Kratos said loudly, taking a
moment more to look at the tree before returning to the ground. After landing besides the dwarf, Kratos
couldn't help but smile. After so many
years… "I saw…the mana tree."

Dirk's eyes
first went wide, then began to mist up as he felt the pride only a father could
feel. "Then…in doing so he has saved us
all."

Kratos
turned in the direction of the tree, even though he couldn't see it anymore
from the ground. "Indeed." With the birth of the ancient tree, Kratos
began to feel a sudden sense of anxiety and fear. What would become of him now?
When word got out that the legend and myth that everyone so clung to was
a lie started by Mithos and the angels of Cruxis himself, Kratos knew he would
be less than welcomed anywhere he went within the new world.

But that
strangely wasn't what caused the fear nor the anxiety. When Lloyd returned here…would he in fact
want Kratos to remain in his life? And
even if he did, how would Dirk take it?

For the
last fourteen years, Dirk had been the father Kratos himself could not be. He raised Lloyd to be a fine swordsman and
taught him the values the angel wasn't even sure he himself possessed. Lloyd had been devastated upon discovering
that it was Kratos, the very man who'd lied and deceived them, that was his
long lost father. Of course, had Kratos
been given the choice, he would've searched high and low for his son, but on
that fateful day when Anna had…well, Kratos thought he'd lost both of the
people he cared for most…

Desian Base: Iselia, fourteen
years earlier…

Kratos stood within the walls of the Iselia Ranch. Before him was a woman who deserved better
than he had given her. Forced to work
day after day towards only an inevitable death, it was amazing that even
through this she kept a positive outlook on life; praying to the goddess Martel
and her angels to bear the Chosen One and save all those within the desian
human ranches.

Kratos knew the jewel growing within
her would one day kill her, but try as he might he had been unable to find a
cure for her. The woman who'd broken
down all his defenses had been able to see into the soul he never thought he
still possessed.

Though covered in nothing but mere rags, Anna still
appeared as beautiful as ever. She had
long black hair, reaching just above her waist and sparkling green eyes. She appeared so exotic in an artificial
society where everyone was meant to be the same. Kratos would never forgive himself for being responsible for Anna
being here, but he couldn't make a move without Lord Yggdrasill finding out one
way or another.

But Kratos swore the day Anna was
taken away, that he would find a way to escape with her, so that they could
live out the life that up until now had been denied to them. Even though their son remained safely in Kratos'
care, the angel still believed the boy deserved to have his mother in his life
as well. Anna felt content with the
fact that Lloyd was hidden away somewhere and that she would be reunited with
him…someday.

"Kratos?"

Blinking
out of his reverie, the angel once again looked down at the frail yet beautiful
form of his endearing love. "Hmm? I'm sorry I must've been lost in thought for
a moment."

Smiling,
Anna looked into his eyes and Kratos immediately felt her gaze analyzing his
inner being, determining if he was telling the truth. "You seem tired. Have you
slept well lately?"

Scoffing,
Kratos turned away, no longer being able to meet her inquisitive orbs. "I am an Angel of Cruxis." He said slightly dark. "I need little sleep or food for that
matter."

Wincing,
Kratos turned to her again. "You know I
hate it when you say that."

Smiling,
Anna looked up again, happy her plan worked to get the man to turn towards her
once more. "I know, but these visits
seem to get shorter and shorter. How am
I supposed to remember what my love looks like if I can't see his face?"

Half smiling, Kratos walked forward
and pulled her close. She seemed to
relax in his embrace and held an ear to his heart. Even though the armor he wore prevented her from actually hearing
it, she smiled nonetheless. The guards
outside the room they were in would not dare disturb them, for fear of
upsetting the angel within as well, so Kratos knew they were safe for the moment,
but he didn't want to take the chance of being found out. Anna would most certainly be killed and
Kratos' actions would be seen as traitorous to Lord Yggdrasill back at
Derris-Kharlan. "I know, but just wait
a little longer. I will find a
way to save you."

"You say
that as if I'm going to perish at any moment."
Anna replied pulling back from the embrace.

Kratos hadn't the heart to tell the
woman standing before him what it truly meant to be a part of the Angelus
Project. She simply lived her life in
the human ranch believing she was a mere slave. That probably explained her upbeat attitude all the time.

"Kratos…I…"
Stopping, it was Anna's turn to move away.

The sudden
change in behavior alerted Kratos and he stepped forward. "Anna…what is it? Have they been ill-treating you?"

Twirling
back around, Anna looked up at the angel.
"No, no, it's not that. Nothing
more than usual. But what has me
worried is that I've been loosing certain… feelings lately."

"Feelings?"

Looking
down, Anna played with her pinky the way she always did when she was
nervous. She picked up the habit when
Kratos first started visiting the ranch not as Kratos, her love and father to
their son, but as Lord Kratos, the Angel of Cruxis. "I…can't really taste the food they give me
anymore. And I sleep maybe an hour and
nothing more. Then just yesterday…" She
paused again.

"Anna?" Kratos gently took the woman's small wrists
in his larger hands and pulled them up, attempting to get her to look at him,
but to no avail. "Anna, answer
me." His tone was more commanding this
time, the same way he spoke to her desian captors.

Without
turning to him, Anna closed her eyes.
"I touched one of the machines yesterday by accident and it burned my
hand…"

"What?" Kratos turned her wrist so he could see her
palm and just as she said, there was a slight burn mark where the skin wrinkled
up because of the heat. "Are you
alright?"

Yanking her
hands away Anna replied, "Yes I'm fine and that's what scares me!" She held her injured hand close to her
heart. "I didn't feel anything
when it happened. No heat, no
pain…nothing." She finally turned to
look at him as her eyes began to water.
"What's happening to me?"

Kratos
pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "You'll be fine. I promise." But he knew
on the inside, the transformation of the exsphere had already begun. What worried him more was that the symptoms
she was experiencing was similar to what the Chosen felt during their
transformation into an angel.

First it
was the need for food, then sleep, and then all forms of feeling
disappeared. Their voice was the next
to vanish. Lastly, their very heart and
memory of who they were would be erased.
This process was one Mithos had created in order to make human shells
worthy of harboring Martel's soul. But
Anna was not the Chosen and Kratos was led to believe it was because she was
specifically entered into the Angelus Project that caused these effects. It would also explain why the exsphere was
implanted directly inside her rather than on her hand. The crystal probably extracted the necessary
mana more quickly but also created a symbolic relationship with Anna, resulting
in her not getting sick like all the other slaves.

Kvar and
Mithos had begun the Angelus Project in order to grow cruxis crystals, not
exspheres, capable of turning the host into a shell far more quickly than the
Chosen's journey of regeneration.
Should they be successful, Mithos could eliminate the story and myth
behind the regeneration of the world and turn his attention to finding suitable
hosts with Martel's unique mana signature in order to revive her.

After
calming down a bit, Anna said just above a whisper, "How…how is Lloyd doing?"

Kratos
smiled in admiration. Even though she
was going through all this, Anna still feared for their son and wanted to know
what happened with him every time the angel visited. "He's fine. He's eating
more than usual, but that's to be expected with a growing boy."

"You make
sure he's eating his vegetables. Even
the carrots he despises so much.
Otherwise he might go blind before he's your age." Anna reminded.

"If he
lives to be my age, I don't think we'll have much to fear." The angel quipped just as quietly. That same day Anna had been taken away,
Kratos had hidden their son away from Forcystus and Kvar, ultimately saving his
life. The desians would have surely
killed the boy had they found out and Kratos would be locked away, the chance
of saving Anna from her fate disappearing as well.

"I miss him
so much." Anna's eyes watered up
again. "I don't want to stay here
anymore." Kratos remembered Anna's
happiness during the time he was supposed to bring her to Kvar and didn't. Her ideals and outlooks on life were what
changed Kratos' view and made him want to oppose Mithos. But as of yet he had been unable to find a
way for him to wield the Eternal Sword and thus save the two worlds.

The details
of Anna's evasion had been sketchy and thankfully no one connected Kratos to
the future host's escape, but Kvar always suspected Kratos and wished to see
him punished. Of course, Mithos would
never do anything to threaten the angel's life seeing as Kratos' life was bound
to Origin's seal. It would be too risky
if the sword that split the world was left…unprotected.

Kratos'
back straightened as he held her close, his mind attempting to somehow think of
a way to get her out of there without putting her into danger. His thoughts were interrupted when the door
suddenly opened and two desians walked in.
Kratos slipped Anna behind him smoothly and looked sternly at the
intruders. "What is the meaning of
this?"

Looking as
intimidating as he was, the desian soldiers tried their best to stand straight
before the angel of cruxis. "L-Lord Kvar
requests your presence in the Extraction Room.
He says to bring the prisoner."

Kratos narrowed his eyes and glared
at the soldiers thinking, Why would Kvar want to see Anna all of a
sudden? The crystal is not even near
its harvesting time yet, so then why? "Very
well. I will come shortly."

Nodding,
both soldiers made a hasty exit, leaving the angel alone with the prisoner.

Grabbing a
hold of his sleeve, Anna peered up worriedly, "W-what do you think this is all
about?" She never cared for Kvar not
for the fact that he was her captor and overseer, but his very soul seemed to
be tainted and evil, unlike what she felt in Kratos. He possessed a gentle soul within the rough exterior he had
created for himself.

Turning to
face the younger woman, Kratos held her hands in both of his and looked down at
her. Her emerald eyes were full of fear
and Kratos promised himself after this was all over, he would never let her
fear anything again. I will protect
you Anna. "I'm not sure, but let us
not assume the worst. It is unlikely
Kvar has caught on, but in the event that he has, be prepared to make a hasty
retreat."

"You
mean…?" She breathed.

Kratos
nodded. "Yes, though it will be
difficult, I will fly us away from here, we'll pick up Lloyd and go into hiding. If Lord Yggdrasill comes after us, I will
deal with him then."

Nodding,
Anna tried to calm her nerves. She was
not worried about her safety so much as that of her lover and son. Whoever was above Kratos, Anna knew was not
to be trifled with. "I understand."

"Good." Taking her hand, he exited the cell and walked down the
passageways. He kept a stern face on
the outside, but on the inside he was panicking. If Kvar has found out, he will no doubt be ready to battle
me. I will need to make sure Anna is
safely out of the way, then I will finally kill him for the pain he's brought
upon my family. Since the six
months past when Kvar and his desian underlings had stormed into Kratos' home
and taken Anna away, the angel had burned with the need for revenge. That self deluded fool would die by Kratos'
hand. Over the ages, Kratos knew anger
and revenge to be meager feelings, but that did not stop him from planning the
fall of the desian grand cardinal. He
would make the bastard pay.

When the two entered the Extraction
Room, Kratos kept Anna behind him and regarded Kvar suspiciously. The overseer held a wide sneer on his face
when he saw the angel, but it turned into a wider smile when he saw Anna in
tow. "You wished to see me, Kvar?" Kratos asked in an authoritive voice, seeing
the devious man's eyes flick back to him.

Clasping his hands behind him at
the small of his back, Kvar nodded and began pacing back and forth. The man had short gray hair slicked back and
wide golden shoulder guards. The red
gloves he wore reminded Kratos of all the innocent blood this man was
responsible for, as if it had stained his hands, never to fade away. "According to the data we gathered last
time, Anna's development is progressing more quickly than we expected."

Kratos' brow raised
fractionally. "Do you intend to hastily
harvest it then?" He replied in hopes
of deterring Kvar from harming Anna before he had a chance to free her from this
intolerable nightmare. Then angel's
gaze flashed to the woman behind him, but he kept his concern under
control. Up until now, Kratos had
neither revealed his true identity to her, nor told her about the
exsphere. When he had decided to settle
down with Anna and look away from the corruption that had grown from Mithos'
selfish desires, he thought he could start over. Now he feared Kvar would tell her instead.

"I don't see why not. If we fail, we can always try again…with her
son. Oh Lord Forcystus?" Just then a side door opened and at least a
dozen desian soldiers came storming in to surround the couple. Kratos cursed for not being more careful and
for walking into an obvious trap.
Getting out would now be ten times harder.

Last to enter was Lord Forcystus,
another grand cardinal Kratos disliked.
Though he had once been a hero to his own kind, Kratos knew him now to
be nothing more than a self serving idiot, who disregarded all those under him
in order to advance himself in Lord Yggdrasill's favor. Something he and Kvar had in common. "I should have assumed you'd be
involved." Kratos said in a dangerously
low tone. Obviously after one of his
pasts visits, Forcystus had found a way to track him into the labyrinth of Ymir
Forest and find the hideout that held his son.
The angel had hoped the location would keep him hidden and the nearby
village of the elves would make getting supplies easier. Unfortunately, it had not remained hidden
long enough and now the desian grand cardinal no doubt had his son captive.

Forcystus himself smirked. "I believed you were against Lord Yggdrasill,
Kratos, but never would I have been swayed to believe you would lower yourself
to romancing with humans." One of his eyes narrowed, for the right one
remained hidden behind a black eye patch as his short blue hair stood slightly
on end with agitation for the human turned angel before him. Holding onto his hand from behind was a
small little boy with short brown hair and tears streaming down his face. "I believe this is yours, am I correct?"

A three-year-old Lloyd tried to
break free of his captor and run to his parents. "Mommy! Daddy!" Noishe, their pet dog, barked and growled as
other desian soldiers restrained him.

Forcystus and Kvar both grinned,
taking personal pleasure in witnessing the distress from both Anna and the
angel. "I guess that answers my
question." Forcystus laughed.

"Lloyd!" Anna exclaimed from behind Kratos.

Drawing his sword, Kratos took a
menacing step forward. "Let him
go. I will destroy you both if he is
harmed."

Kvar scoffed un-intimidated and
grabbed Lloyd by the ankle, yanking him into the air, and holding the
frightened child upside down. "Do you
believe him to be your guardian angel Anna?"
He asked mockingly to the slave.
"Do you believe he will save you from your deserving fate?"

Coming out from behind Kratos, Anna
glared defiantly at the overseer.
"Those who attempt to bring joy and hope to others left without deserve
the light of Martel and the gratitude of those they save!"

Kratos felt a twinge of guilt from
her words. Dear Anna…you know not of
what you speak. But he kept his
outer face emotionless. "I am leaving
and I am taking her and the boy with me."
He said with more confidence than he felt. He could easily kill off every one of the desians before him now,
including Kvar. Only Forcystus gave him
reason to worry, for the more he killed the more likely Lord Yggdrasill would
find out about his defection… if he hadn't already.

"Oh, I think not." Forcystus said, taking the boy back into his
arms.

Kvar chuckled and rubbed his chin
as he raised an eyebrow at his rival.
"Set her into the extraction device."
He commanded.

As two guards went around Kratos
and attempted to take back Anna, Kratos slashed with his blade and gutted them
before they could even cry out.

Anna gasped upon seeing the bloodshed
and clenched her eyes shut. She had
grown used to seeing such violence around the human ranch, but it shocked her
to see it come from a man she had once seemed so gentle.

"I warned you." Kratos ground, glaring at the remaining
soldiers each in turn. "Should any more
of you come one step closer, you will befall the same fate."

Forcystus threw the boy to soldiers
behind him and brought up his gun arm.
"So disorderly Lord Kratos. I
think I'll enjoy bringing your dead corpse to Lord Yggdrasill." He fired the weapon straight at the angel of
cruxis.

Kratos raised his sword to deflect
the attack, but the force of the blow knocked him clear off his feet and he was
thrown back into the solid bulkhead behind him. The angel's sword fell with a clatter and as he tried to get back
to his feet, four soldiers aimed their weapons at him from all sides. Noishe barked repeatedly until one of the
guards hit him, making him yelp.

"Kratos!" Anna struggled against Kvar's hold as he dragged her into the
chair that was used to restrain slaves when their exspheres were
extracted.

Strapping her in, Kvar smirked as
his anticipation rose. "You know on
second thought, this might be a premature experiment…do you know what that
means Lord Kratos?"

"No…" The angel breathed.

Looking at the frightened girl,
Kvar tilted his head mockingly. "Do you
know what exspheres are Anna? Exspheres
are what we cultivated from you worthless humans."

"Exspheres?" She echoed.
Looking up at the angel before her, Anna whimpered. "W-what is he talking about?"

Now openly laughing, Kvar answered
for him. "You haven't told her,
Kratos? A pity…" He began pacing back
and forth in front of the small army, reveling in the suffering he knew Kratos
was going through. "You have, growing
within you, a powerful gem. It was
planted there the day you came here, but of course you wouldn't remember
that. That's why Kratos was sent to
capture you, though I'm sure he's the reason you got away in the first
place. You were a perfect match for our
Angelus Project and I simply had to have you back."

"That's enough Kvar!" Kratos threw his arms outward, smacking all
the guards near him, but saw Forcystus take back his son and shake his
head. The surge of emotion brought out
his wings and he trembled with rage.

"This boy means little to me. I will just as surely kill him if you resist
any longer, Kratos." Forcystus smirked,
yanking the boy over by the hair.

Lloyd cried out and fought to break
free, help his parents in anyway possible, but the man was too strong. "Let me go!
Daddy!" He called out.

"I…It's not true. That's a lie!" Anna exclaimed, pulling up on the straps in order to break
free. "I don't believe you!"

"Oh, but it's true!" Kvar looked over at the fuming Kratos. "Working for Cruxis you must've suspected
it. Over time, the once dormant crystal
grows and matures from using the host body's mana. We've discovered that pain and suffering hurry this process along. When that happens it activates within its
host, we cultivate it, adapting it with a key crest and use it to make us
superior half elves stronger. When the
extraction process fails because the host body was too weak or resistant, it
can cause…undesirable effects. If the
crystal has grown within you like we hoped, it will be a cruxis crystal, not an
exsphere. A cruxis crystal is an
evolved form of the exsphere. Something
our Lord Yggdrasill wants more than anything.
But don't worry dear Anna, when we extract it you probably won't feel a
thing. And we will still be able to
harvest the jewel from your cold, dead body if it indeed fails." He continued to laugh as Anna looked over
and met Kratos' guilty expression.
Tears that should've been running down her cheeks were now absent.

"Kratos…" Kvar activated a sort of
beam that was created to pull the exsphere from Anna's body and she screamed in
pain, fighting against the straps. Anna
tried to resist as she felt incredible pain roll over her body in waves. Her last human thought was as she looked at
her first love. It's not true…

Slowly a blue tinted orb was pulled free from her
body and floated over to Kvar's awaiting hand.

"Anna!" Kratos called out, worried for her safety. Lloyd was crying abundantly now, the pain
his mother was going through tormenting him.

Kvar smirked as he held the
cultivated gem that had been within Anna since her capture almost six months
earlier. "No, it should have
worked! I was to become one of the four
seraphim!" He boasted. "This is still merely an exsphere!"

A moan from the operating table
brought the angel's eyes over and Kratos watched as slowly Anna's skin warped
from a light peach to a dark forest green.
Large white stripes appeared over her entire body and she grew to a high
of eight feet at least. The metal
straps groaned with the pressure and snapped free as she stood up. Dangerously sharp red spikes protruded from
her elbows and shoulders and only added to her ferocious look.

Her transformation was enough to
spook the guards around him and the angel looked down at his salvation still
lying where he'd dropped it.
"Anna!" He quickly rolled and
grabbed his sword, flying at Forcystus before the grand cardinal could
react. Lowering one shoulder, Kratos
rammed him back into his remaining army, making him drop his son. Another slash and the soldier holding back
Noishe fell down dead.

Kratos held Lloyd with one hand,
while he held his sword in front of him with the other. The monster that stood before him now was a
far cry from the beauty that he loved so dearly. Red glowing eyes bore down upon Kratos and tightening his grip on
his sword, he knew what he would be forced to do. This is all my fault.
Anna…I'm sorry.

"Oops. Sorry Kratos…were you expecting to woo her with more lies?" Kvar taunted, buying time until Forcystus
could recover.

"Mommy!" Lloyd yanked free from his father and dashed to his mother's
aide.

"Lloyd, no!" Kratos rushed forward and grabbed the child
into his arms before the creature could swat him away. He rolled, keeping the child safely against his
chest, and flew to the door. "Come and
get us!" He taunted the monster before
dashing out of the room.

"No cease her!" Kvar ordered the soldiers.

Throwing her arms out, the monster
batted them all away against the far end of the room, grabbed the glowing orb
from Kvar's greedy hand, and drudged out of the steel plated room after the
fleeing duo.

"Damn her!" Kvar cursed.

Kratos grit his teeth as he tried
to come up with a plan. Lloyd continued
to cry out for his mother, but the angel refused to let him go. Behind them, Noishe ran to keep up with the
angel's speed. He couldn't leave Anna
here like this. The desians would no
doubt try and put her to some evil purpose or worse…kill her off completely.

Desian soldiers appeared from
different corners as Kratos made his way outside, the alarm being sounded
shortly after their escape. He
dispatched any and all that got in his way, leaving only bloodshed behind
him. Every now and then he would turn
around to make sure Anna was indeed still following them, before taking off
again.

Kicking down the last door, Kratos
winced as the sunlight poured through and frantically flicked his eyes back and
forth trying to find somewhere to hide his son. Discovering a nearby bush, Kratos set the crying child down. The angel knelt before the boy and looked
sternly into his eyes. "Stay here." He
commanded firmly.

"Daddy…" Lloyd continued to cry but
nodded nonetheless.

Standing up, the angel regarded his
son for an extra moment, before turning towards his approaching lover. Kratos, his eyes locked on Anna's
transformed figure, set his jaw with determination. I swore I would protect you and I will keep my promise… "Anna…" The gurgling sounds coming from the
monster's throat only caused Kratos to hate himself more for what he had to do
next.

Seeing the child as the weaker of
the two opponents, the monster turned and raised an arm over Lloyd.

"Anna no!" Kratos tried to get her attention back on
him.

The child looked up with tears, but
could say nothing. At the last moment
as she brought her arm down, Noise came out of the open door and bit onto her
arm, making her wail.

Throwing the dog aside, the pet
lost his grip and landed hard on the grass floor. The creature growled and its eyes glowed red. But upon seeing her son again, Anna fought
to control herself. "L-Loyd…K-Kratos…"
She turned and faced her love.

Gasping, Kratos looked up expecting
to see the green fields of joy but instead saw the hellish burning orbs of what
Kvar had made her become. Wait…had he
just heard right?

"I believe in you…Kratos." The monster said again. Anna's voice was hidden beneath the wheezing
and gurgling, but he knew it was her. "You
know what…you must do."

"Anna!" Kratos exclaimed, still having yet to deliver the final
blow. How could he? This was the woman he loved! The mother of his child! Damn Kvar!
Damn Forcystus! Damn all of
Cruxis! "I can't!" How could he? Knowing his son would witness the atrocious murdering of his
mother…at his father's hand?

Forcystus, Kvar, and more desian
soldiers exited out of the facility from another door and gathered near the
couple as they faced each other in a stand off.

"Please!" She took a swing at him, unable to stop her body from reacting to
the now out of control mana and fought with no thoughts of her own. "You're the only one that can!" Turning away from him, she turned towards
the troops of desians and swatted Kvar first, sending him reeling end over end
into the stonewall of the ranch.

"Get her and retrieve the
boy!" Forcystus commanded.

At once, all of the desians ran at
the monster with whips in hand.

"No!" Kratos intercepted them and swung his blade. As the first soldier fell, Kratos' untold
anguish and emotion caused his mystical wings to glow bright and they flared
out on either side of him. With each
flash of metal another desian fell dead at the angel's feet.

Ignoring the battling angel, Anna
drudged over towards Forcystus and dared him to openly attack her. Even though she could barely comprehend what
was going on or control what she was doing, she forced her legs towards the man
whom she truly blamed for not only her pain and suffering, but that of all the
slaves in the ranch.

Part of it must've been her
parental instincts, because inside she knew she couldn't let these demons take
her child. He had to survive. He was the proof of her and Kratos'
never-ending love. She saw past what he
was and looked deep within. She saw no
boundaries between them, unlike so many in the world who deemed those that were
difference a menace to society and unworthy of their respect.

"What do you think you're
doing?" The armored man brought up his
gun arm, but Anna angrily swatted him away.
Thrown back by the sheer force of the blow, Forcystus hit the bulkhead
of the front gate and slumped to the floor, dazed.

Kratos dispatched of the last
desian and turned just in time to see Anna beat down the front gate and make
her way outside. "Anna!"

Kvar moaned and tried to sit up
just as Kratos ran past him. All
around, the carnage left by the angel was unbelievable. The boy he had hoped would be his ticket to
Lord Yggdrasill's side ran out from behind the bush and after his father. Leaning forward, he caught the boy by the
ankle and sneered as he fell hard against the floor. "You're not going anywhere!"

Trying to pull his leg away, Lloyd
grunted and called out to his father.
"Dad! Help me!"

Not hearing his son's plea for
help, Kratos exited the ranch and looked back and forth for his love. His wings twitched nervously as his heart
continued to beat rapidly. Finally
spotting her near the cliff, Kratos called out, "Anna no!"

"Anna…" Kratos didn't know what to say
because as much as he hated it, everything Kvar revealed was true. He had kept the truth from her for so
long. This was all his fault.

"Now, please as my last
request…kill me. If you don't, I'll
jump. I can't live on like this,
knowing they will simply use the crystal to hurt others. Take Lloyd and get out of here!" She pleaded.

Her voice was pained and Kratos
shook his head defiantly. "I
can't! I'll find a way to save you!"

"There is no way. I'll never be who I was. I trust you to finish what it was you set
out to do, Kratos…for both of us." She
said fondly.

"Anna…"

"I'm just sorry I never got to gaze
into the eyes of my son again…Kratos please…" Her discouraged words were so
unlike her; it made the angel realize how much she had changed in just a few
mere moments.

Kratos grit his teeth and stared
down at the ground sadly. "Anna…"
Slowly, his sword arm raised to his side and taking a step forward, he slashed
at an angle. The cut was quick and
probably didn't cause her any more pain than she was already going through, but
Kratos was sure he felt just as much pain if not more inside. "Goodbye…"

At that
moment, Lloyd broke free from Kvar, kicking him in the head with his other
booted foot and made a run for the open gate.
He turned just in time to see Kratos give the fatal blow. "Mommy!?
Daddy no!"

Gasping,
Kratos turned and saw his son run past him towards his mother. He grabbed a hold of her waist and held on
as tightly as possible. "Mommy! No don't leave me!"

"Lloyd!" Kratos called out in worry, reaching
forward.

Loosing
control once more from the pain of the wounds, the monster batted Lloyd off her
and he went flying off to the side.
Barking, Noishe came again and tried helping the boy but was hit instead
and both boy and dog fell down, teetering near the edge of the cliff.

Shaking
with anger, Kratos swung his sword behind him, cutting through the monster one
last time, knowing without a doubt his Anna was truly dead.

Slowly Anna began to fall
backwards. She was too weak for fight
back as all around her darkness began to invade her vision and sleep… a
welcomed thought. Much to his
amazement, Kratos could see her form shrink back into what he always
loved. "Kratos, Lloyd…" She said, her
voice her own once more. "Goodbye…"
Then she closed her eyes and also fell over the side of the cliff.

Lloyd's eyes went wide as he
watched her fall down the rocky terrain.
Why? Why would his father do
something like this? Even being a monster,
his mom was still his mom. That would
never change! Didn't he see that?

"Anna!" Jumping up, Kratos made ready to dive over after her, maybe save
her, when he was once again hit from behind and slammed back down on the ground
painfully. He looked up just in time to
see her pained face drop below the level of the ground.

"Well I suppose we'll have to go
down and retrieve the exsphere anyway."
Kvar said without feeling.
Sighing, he turned to go down the cliff's side, leaving Kratos in
Forcystus' care.

"Kvar, I will make you pain for
this." The angel said in a low tone,
barely getting to his knees.

The desian scientist stopped. "What was that, Kratos? Planning the last moments of your tortured
life before Lord Yggdrasill sees it fit to destroy you?" He laughed.
"And don't worry about your son…we'll take good care of him.

"Kvar!!!" Kratos flew into the air, dodging the other grand cardinal's
attack, and rammed into the scientist, throwing him down into the ground. One of the stray hits struck the ground next
to the Lloyd and wounded Noishe. The
angel called out for them, but the ground beneath them gave way and both forms
disappeared over the side.

Kvar winced and tried to get up
again, but Kratos was on top of him before he knew it. Slashing two, three times, the angel of
cruxis released a fury on the man like the world had never seen.

When the body stopped twitching and
Kratos believed him dead, he once again ignored Forcystus and flew down the
side of the cliff. The grand cardinal
cursed and attempted to follow shouting towards the few guards remaining near
the ranch's entrance, "Call all soldiers to the base of the cliff!"

Little did Kratos know that moments later, Dirk, who
had seen the woman fall over the side, came to help. Kneeling by her side, the dwarf was shocked at the injuries the woman
received, though she had somehow survived the fall over the cliff. What was more shocking was that a small boy
lay on top of her, though he remained unconscious. "Hang on, I'll take care of you."

"No…it's too late…" She whispered. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth
and Dirk suspected she had injuries inside as well. "They…wanted to kill me and my son, Lloyd, in order to get
this." She held up the glowing blue orb
that she managed to take back from Kvar.
"You mustn't let them…the desians…" Then she closed her eyes and her
entire form was engulfed in a blue light.

Dirk had to cover his eyes from the brightness, but
he could see her form slowly fade away and when he looked once more, all that
was left was a small glowing blue exsphere.
It lay mere inches from her son's unmoving hand.

Back at the dwarf's house, a grave
would be made though no body would dwell in it. The unknown woman, who'd given her life so that her son could
live would not disappear from history.
The gravestone would be the evidence of her existence…that and the life
of her son.

By the time Kratos got down there,
there was nothing left but bloodstains and monster corpses. Caught up in the anguish of loosing both
Anna and Lloyd, Kratos didn't sense Forcystus behind him and was thrown forward
when the grand cardinal fired off his gun arm at the angel's back at point
blank range.

Forcystus walked up and fired
another shot at the already downed Kratos, just in case. "I'm sure Lord Yggdrasill will love to see
you after hearing what I have to tell him."

Kratos' vision blurred as he fell
into unconsciousness. Anna…Lloyd…

"Kratos."

Jolted from the past, the angel turned and looked
down at the one who'd called him. "What
is it, Dirk?" Kratos tried to keep the strain
in his voice from being noticed and cleared his throat. Such memories had always been painful for
him. Though Forcystus had indeed
captured Kratos and brought him to Mithos along with Kvar, he and the other
Desian Grand Cardinals, minus Pronyma, had been told that Kratos had been taken
care of. It's the only explanation the
angel could conceive that would explain why fifteen years later when he and
Lloyd had run into Forcystus once more, that the desian hero didn't recognize
him.

The dwarf pretended not to hear the slight waver in
the man's voice and returned to speaking his original thought, "I guess I
wanted to let ya know that I want ya to feel welcomed in my home. I don't blame ya for anything and I know
Lloyd doesn't either." The small man began. "We both know ya would've come to find him
had ya been able."

Kratos nodded, knowing deep within his heart he
would've done all that and more. "Thank
you, Dirk. You've taken care of him
since Anna passed away and I'm not sure I will be the type of father Lloyd
wants me to be, but he's had you."

Dirk smiled and laughed shortly. "Ha!
If a wee little man like me can raise a firecracker like Lloyd, you're
sure to do fine."

Kratos felt the corners of his mouth curve into a
smile, but the low droning of a rheaird brought his eyes to the sky.

Sheena and Zelos descended in the small clearing
just South of Dirk's house and the red-haired Chosen leapt the last few feet
while Sheena shut the flyer down.
"We've got problems." He said
quickly.

Both men tensed up.
"What has happened?" Kratos
asked first.

At this point, Sheena joined Zelos' side. "Lloyd's out cold after regenerating the
mana tree and Colette thinks it's something serious."

"Where is he now?"
Dirk asked.

Zelos threw a thumb over his shoulder and replied,
"They're over at Heimdall, Colette – hey!"
The Chosen was cut off when Kratos suddenly took to the air and quickly
disappeared.

Sheena cursed and ran back to the rheaird. "We'd better hurry. If he arrives without us, the others are
gonna worry."

Dirk nodded and mounted in front of her, his short
legs barely straddling the rheaird.
Zelos mounted behind her and grabbed a hold of her waist.

Sheena withheld a gasp when the strong arms behind
her interlocked, holding her securely in place. She felt the blood rush to her face and shook her head to relieve
herself of such thoughts before starting up the rheaird and shooting off
towards Heimdall.

-Viscus in Latin
means heart.

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